Dew Drop

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Dew Drop

Sunday morning was spent dune hopping at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We arrived pretty early to see everything in the early morning sun. As we walked from dune to dune and explored areas we've never seen, we also found areas that have probably been forgotten for decades, as there were no signs of humans at all. There were no footprints or trails to these places, and we had to do some serious climbing and bushwhacking, but it was well worth the effort to see these progressive dunes and woods that nobody normally explores.

As we walked through the clumps of Marram Grass, we noticed the grass was slightly wet. Upon close inspection, almost every 18 inch blade of grass had a drop on it. These drops help provide water for the tiny creatures that live on these dry sand dunes. Footprints of tiny creatures were everywhere in the sand.

A trip on the Chicago river

Chris and I took a boat ride on the Chicago river and Lake Michigan.

Dandelion Seeds

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Dandelion Seeds

An extreme close up of the little fuzzy seeds grouped on the head of a single dandelion.

Last nights sky. From a cellphone

Waiting for Dinner

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Waiting for Dinner

This little American Bullfrog was sitting on a piece of limestone just waiting for something to fly or crawl by for dinner. By the size of the tympanum (the round eardrum behind the eye) it appears to be a female bullfrog, males have larger tympanums, often larger than the eye, as seen in the photo below.

Evening Flight

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Evening Flight

A peaceful, evening flight along the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in LaPorte County, Indiana.

What a view that pilot must have had! We could see Chicago from the top of the dune (37.5 miles), but I'll bet he could see much more. He, of course, could also see all of the dunes along the shore.

Sun Setting Next to Chicago

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Sun Setting Next to Chicago

On clear days, the Chicago skyline can be seen from the Indiana Dunes in LaPorte County. That's a distance of over 37 miles across Lake Michigan. Click on the image and go to flickr to enlarge it to see the horizon.

Yesterday was different, because it was the first time that I was also able to see the land under the skyline as well. Being up on the 125 foot tall sand dune compensated for the curvature of the earth, which generally only allows you to see about 7 or 8 miles at the horizon. Obviously, if the object is sticking up from the water, you can see it farther away.

Regardless, it was a beautiful sunset.

Tilted

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Tilted

Kintzel Ditch emptying into Lake Michigan along the Indiana shoreline. These dunes took a beating over the winter, and yards of them have crumbled into the lake.
This is such a peaceful place, yet it changes dramatically day by day - sometimes the wind and waves force the stream to meander hundreds of yards to the southwest before emptying into the lake.

End of the Dune

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End of the Dune

The weather is finally warming up, and the angle of the sun is higher in the sky, so it's really looking like summer!

The ever changing mouth of Kintzel Ditch, near Michigan City, Indiana, is a favorite spot of ours for hiking, relaxing and hunting for fossils. Depending upon the wind and waves, this mouth of this stream can move hundreds of feet southwest, then back again.

We've found hundreds of Crinoid Stem fossils here over the past year. You can't beat looking for fossils with this scene as your background!

Danny's Graduation

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Danny's Graduation

Danny's graduation ceremony was Friday. The assembly the had was really nice, featuring songs and poems written by the high school students who were teachers to the preschool children.

Andrew High School has an early childhood education program, and the students who were enrolled in it each work out a lesson plan and carry it out with the help of all the other teachers. They were observed and graded for their work with the preschoolers - all while the preschoolers benefited from the lessons and fun.

We enrolled Danny only because his older brother Mike had such a good time. Classes met three days a week for two hours.

Tulips Everywhere

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Tulips Everywhere

Gardens everywhere are bursting with spring color. This garden at Brookfield Zoo was no exception. The zoo grounds are looking pretty good this year.

Big Red

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Big Red

Finally got a chance to see this historic lighthouse during the Tulip Time festival in Holland, Michigan.

Officially called the Holland Harbor South Pierhead Lighthouse, the current tower and house was built in 1907 and includes a gable roofline showing the Dutch influence of the area.

Aptly nicknamed "Big Red" since the Coast Guard painted it red decades ago to conform to the maritime rule of "Red right returning." Red right returning indicates that all channel markers are to be red in color when they are located on the right side of a channel or river when returning from the larger body of water. Red channel markers are called "Nuns"; the green channel markers called "Cans" are located on the left.

The light was electrified in 1932 and continued to serve until 1970. The people of Holland, Michigan rescued and preserved the lighthouse so now it remains proudly at the entrance to Holland Harbor, between Lake Michigan and Lake Wanatawa.

Tulip Time!

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Tulip Time Holland Michigan

It's early May and that means tulips, and if you're around Holland, Michigan, that means Tulip Time!

The 80th annual Tulip Time festival kicked off April 29th in the western Michigan town of Holland, and will run until May 9th. Along with six million tulips, a dutch market, musical acts, and a carnival, traditional Dutch costume and dance events run all week.

The festival takes place downtown, but tulips can be seen almost everywhere, lining streets and parks.

Head down within the next week or so -even if you miss the festival, you can still enjoy the tulips!

Ottawa Canyon Waterfalls

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Ottawa Canyon Waterfalls

A quick, but muddy walk to Ottawa Canyon at Starved Rock State Park yielded some beautiful scenery and two waterfalls. The canyons were all running with water - something that will become a bit rare as the summer approaches and things dry up.

First Light at Lake Falls

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First Light at Lake Falls

After a few days of rain, Lake Falls in Matthiessen State Park was flowing more than usual. It was a bit difficult to walk around the dells not knowing where it was shallow enough to travel.

Unwind - It's Spring!

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Fiddlehead

On a recent visit to Starved Rock, we enjoyed watching the woods come alive with spring plants. In certain rocky and shady areas, ferns were making a quick comeback to the landscape.

This fiddlehead was around the size of a pencil eraser. Getting close to it, the individual leaflets of the fern frond appear to be tiny fern fronds themselves! Get even closer, and the leaflets have veins in them that mimic a fern frond!

Giant's Bathtub Early Morning

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Giant's Bathtub Early Morning

There's nothing like an early morning walk with nature. Morning at Matthiessen State Park is no exception. The air temperature was in the high 60's as we arrived, but in the canyons, you could still see your breath. The cold water created some mist at some points, making the sunrise much more spectacular.

The recent rains raised the level of the stream, making it rather difficult to walk around the bottom of the canyons, but if you didn't mind getting your feet wet with very cold water (or had boots like me), it was great to see the waterfalls running full speed.

Lock Gate Bracket

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Lock Gate Bracket

Often called a "Goon Neck" or "Gooseneck strap" this bracket held the hinge side of the miter lock gate to the coping (top of the lock) on Lock 11 of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

Also attached to the gate at this point was a long lever used by the lock tender to open and close the gates.

Many of these have been removed along the canal, but this one is still in place for now.

Lock 11 Bypass Channel

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Lock 11 Bypass Channel

Who knew that a lock bypass channel in Illinois could look like the Amazon? This channel is only about 4 or 5 feet wide, cut through solid stone by workers over 100 years ago. This area around lock 11 in Ottawa, Illinois had natural channels cut by moving water thousands of years ago, so it was the perfect geologic place for a lock and bypass channel.

A bypass channel kept the water behind the lock from overflowing the lock gates. Once the water reached a determined level, it would spill over into the bypass channel and continue down stream.

Not easily reached, I could have explored this area for hours.

Turtle Neck

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Turtle Neck

Walking along the Illinois and Michigan Canal trail, we noticed a small painted turtle trying to warm up in the hazy sun. He obviously wasn't too comfortable with us, so he retreated inside his shell.